Jon Leifer "3 delightful roses that I have been enjoyiong the past few years....one from Long Island and 2 from Sonoma..from LI, Wolffer, from Sonoma, Scherrer and also Bedrock's Ode to Lulu"Jon, was the Scherrer a rose from Pinot Noir? Syrah? Zinfandel?

I'll be opening a Loire rose' this week and a Tavel rose' next week (or the Barnard Griffin rose' of Sangiovese, Washington state)

Gary Kahle wrote:OK, I have tasted enough 2011’s now to list several favorites and as usual, I lean toward the Provencal style and grapes.

Commanderie de la Bargemone, Coteaux d’Aix en Provence, 35% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 30% Cab Sauv, 15% Cinsault. This has been a staple at our house since first tasting it with Dan Kravitz (the importer) fifteen years ago and is my ‘benchmark’. Very light peach color is misleading causing many to expect no flavors which is not the case. Very refreshing. Should be available in all markets.

Cheers, Gary

We tried a few more roses on Friday night, including this one touted by Gary. It's one of my favorites too, and I have to admit that on first opening it I was a bit disappointed, found it a bit too dry and even a little hollow on the palate. Possibly because we had opened this first:

2011 Domaine de Fontsainte Gris de Gris Another annual pink purchase, if I run into it, and one of my absolute favorites from last summer. Shows a fresh rose flavored sweetness up front and finishes a little dryer than one expects based on that, which is good. Well-balanced and fresh, but I'm not sure I like it as much as last year's.

We didn't finish either bottle so last night, decided to taste them again in the front courtyard where we refuged from the cold winds on the ocean side of the house. This time, I served the 2011 Commanderie de la Bargemone first. Seemed entirely different from the night before in all the right ways: richer nose of white nectarine and basil with good tangy fruit on the mid-palate. Again, that surprising bigness from a wine that looks so little and with the dryness I appreciate without it being austere; at last, it's the wine I hope for when I buy the Commanderie.

We followed that with the remaining Fontsainte. Not happy with the first taste that left me floundering about for the right floral reference (scented Kleenex? Grandma?) when Bob said, "it tastes like a sachet, those things you stick in your underwear drawer." Dead on! There was no fruit, just flowers, and the finish had more RS on it than we could enjoy after the Commanderie.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

2010 Clos de Cailliou: damn, missed the vintage date when I bought this, a wine I don't remember having before. Fell for the super pale color and Provence origins, which are usually my preference. Anyway, it's oxidizing.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Did I manage to beat you all to the punch by posting about an Austrian?

Ecker-Eckhof, Zweigelt, 2010

A very pale rose, that is like someone someone put strawberry mascara on Gruner Veltliner. I mean, it has the same spiciness that yells out "Austria" to me, but with strawberry fruit and even more minerals (sort of upturned earth but with a layer of dirt I don't find locally) than I've found in Ecker's whites. A fun quaffer.

And I'd like to add that my experience with Roses has been limited to Tavel, a few locals, a Loire Rose or two, a Bordeaux Rose and now this. And within that limited range, I've found a lot of variety.

Speaking of local red, here's an example (albeit one no one outside of Israel is likely to sample, but still, I like it a lot for what it's worth):

Shvo, Rose, 2010

The best wine I've tasted from Shvo so far, and a really fine, really tasty Rose. Delicately expressive and sanguine, with fresh, earthy strawberry fruit that might not be very complex but is instead single-minded in its purity, rather than being simple (however you wish to use that term).

What’s in your Rose and where’s it from?Does pink = rose? What about Blush?I got turned on to Rose wines 15 – 20 years ago and have enjoyed many over the years. It was interesting back then as lots of retail stores mixed the real French Rose in with the white Zins from CA. Well, they were all pink! When I presented Rose’s at consumer tastings the reaction from most men (and quite a few women) was simple “I don’t drink pink wine”!With the explosion of Rose you now find them being made everywhere from many different grapes. I still prefer them from Provence and made from Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mouvedre but will taste most all that’s offered. I even tasted one that was offered by a Amarone producer (which was pretty bad). Then there’s the “blends” where a red and white is assembled as a Rose. Some are OK but too many are the results of a “failed red wine”. Pinot Noir and Cab Franc seem to end up being bottled as Rose quite often. I have had a few that were OK but again…. France has been making Rose for about 2,600 years in Provence and Tavel so I lean to them. So for me Rose is a category of wine that’s very friendly with lighter dishes, BBQ or just to sip with a friend. One thing I have learned is that if I hear someone say “this is the first Rose that I have liked”… I probably won’t like it.

2011 DOMAINE DU SALVARD CHEVERNY ROSE', LOIRE VALLEY (DELAILLE ON LABEL) Imported by Kermit Lynch. Listed on wine-searcher.com for about $16. 12.5% alcohol by volume. I had some problems with the cork but got it out in two pieces. Some bubbles as I opened the bottle. Salmon color with transparency. Strawberry leads on the nose. Tart, not sweet, strawberries on the palate and tongue along with some pomegranate and a citrus acidity. Reminds me of a sparkling rose' although the bubbles quickly dissipated. Grapes used in Cheverny rose' wines are Gamay, Pinot Noir and Pineau d'Aunis--I don't know the percentages in this proprietary blend. An attractive dry rose' appropriate for dinner table, patio, or picnic bench. I paired it with a vegetable pizza (tomatoes, bell pepper, and onion) and at another meal with Scottish smoked salmon in a lemon-dill sauce. Would buy again.

Salmon in color, this reminds me of the Tempier Rose, though at a fraction of the cost. Bright acidity make for a tart melon freshness, with a hint of strawberry. There is a suggestion of sweetness, but the wine feels and tastes bone dry.

12.5% ABV, a blend of Pinot Noir and Grolleau.

Served with chicken salad with cucumber, greek olives, capers, onion and celery on a bed of thinly sliced cabbage dressed with house red vinegar and EVOO tossed with hearts of palm, kidney beans and green beans out on the patio on what felt like an early summer day. (90 pts.)

JC (NC) wrote:2011 DOMAINE DU SALVARD CHEVERNY ROSE', LOIRE VALLEY (DELAILLE ON LABEL) Imported by Kermit Lynch. Listed on wine-searcher.com for about $16. 12.5% alcohol by volume. I had some problems with the cork but got it out in two pieces. Some bubbles as I opened the bottle. Salmon color with transparency. Strawberry leads on the nose. Tart, not sweet, strawberries on the palate and tongue along with some pomegranate and a citrus acidity. Reminds me of a sparkling rose' although the bubbles quickly dissipated. Grapes used in Cheverny rose' wines are Gamay, Pinot Noir and Pineau d'Aunis--I don't know the percentages in this proprietary blend. An attractive dry rose' appropriate for dinner table, patio, or picnic bench. I paired it with a vegetable pizza (tomatoes, bell pepper, and onion) and at another meal with Scottish smoked salmon in a lemon-dill sauce. Would buy again.

Another one of my favorites--if I see it, I buy it, no questions asked.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

12% alc, $22 Cdn, good natural cork, opened one hour, think might be blended with Trousseau. My 2nd bottle so much anticipated as I enjoyed the previous one last year.

Light blood-orange color with a brown hint. Cranberry and cherry on the nose with herbal hints.Initial entry is off-dry, delicate, unripe strawberry, good minerality. Good finish, great mid-palate, cranberry, good acidity. More red-berry fruit as it warms plus some pomegranite. Still top drawer but might not be for everyone.

Bright red-copper-orange in the glass.Light raspberry and spicy on the nose.Medium weight, raspberry, strawberry, good acidity, a little earthy, crisp, clean, refreshing, a hint of honey, thick in the mouth.Mouthwatering, with an earthy-bitter bite on the finish.Very nice. Have enjoyed this wine over a number of vintages.Screwcap closure.Purchased at $12.95 (Canadian) and a good QPR.

I'm also a fan of the Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon rose' although I haven't had the 2011 vintage yet.This week I opened a 2010 TAVEL LES VIGNES DES PRECHEURS bottled by Ravoire et Fils. (Listed as part of Rhone appellation but also listed as Languedoc-Rousillon on some sites.) I paid $16.99 plus tax at a Total Wine shop in Raleigh. 13.5% alcohol. A blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, and Mourvedre. Synthetic cork. Salmon color; slight orange tint. Red and citrus fruits but I was unable to identify particular fragrances and flavors in this wine. Maybe this is grasping at straws, but on the third evening I came up with a touch of green leaves--specifically celery. Does anyone else sometimes find celery in a rose' wine? Fresh and inviting. While the back label says to drink young, this gave no indication of going downhill. Tingly sensation on the tongue. Interesting wine with perhaps more complexity than the Cheverny I had just prior to this one. While I was back in Raleigh last Saturday I bought two more bottles of this.

Domaine Bunan Bandol Rose' 2011 - Its color of light peach with copper tones sets the table for the breezy elegance that follows. The nose is nicely perfumed with dominant notes of red grapefruit and jasmine, leading to a mouth of racy ripe strawberry, orange blossom and some cotton candy. While the wine is well made, it is on the ripe side--as one might deduce from its relatively high, 13.5%, alcohol content-- lacking focus and acidity. Luckily, it is completley dry, or it would have been flabby. This Provencial rose' is a traditional blend of Mourvedre, Grenache and Cinsault. They made a kosher run that Premier Cru is selling for $26.

As can be found in the Goodbye Ryan thread, I recently opened a bottle of the 2010 Baudry Chinon Rosé which was, as usual, drop dead gorgeous: less fruity now than a year ago, but still quite lively with great mineral and herbal notes and a delightful lightness. At its price point, I can't think of a finer rosé.

Mark Lipton wrote:As can be found in the Goodbye Ryan thread, I recently opened a bottle of the 2010 Baudry Chinon Rosé which was, as usual, drop dead gorgeous: less fruity now than a year ago, but still quite lively with great mineral and herbal notes and a delightful lightness. At its price point, I can't think of a finer rosé.

Palette (rosé) 2005 – Château Simone, Rougier – Alc. 13%- (€32 for the current vintage) – made from grenache (45%), mourvèdre (30%), cinsault, syrah, carignan and muscats (2008 statistics) with an average vine age of 50 years.

Palette is a small appellation just south east of the superb city of Aix-en-Provence and situated in a north facing amphitheatre which allows unusual freshness for that latitude. IMO Château Simone produce arguably the finest white in the South of France and I have memories of previous vintages of their pink which, after medium term ageing, I would place close to the finest which I have had, namely a Sancerre rosé 1996 from Cotat (François, I think).

Two years ago, I wrote -

This 2005 was not on that level though more complex than most. Colour was an attractively deep salmon. The nose held out a lot of hope showing rather Burgundian aromas of cherry and plum plus a lacing of grilled meat and spice. The palate did quite deliver what the nose promised; there was more density of fruit and body than in most pinks as well as some tannic structure and fair length but I found the fruit somewhat too sweet, perfumed and short on acidity to be ideal for my taste. Maybe a touch more evolution would be beneficial; I have one bottle left; 15.5/20++.

I was expecting yesterday's bottle to be really singing and was very disappointed. The colour was salmon pink as is usual in Provençal rosé, quite dense and showed no signs of age. However, the nose was very muted and the aromatics on the palate also, as if the wine had gone into a closed phase. There was body and tannic structure which made it a passable partner for chicken cooked which olives and a Mediterranean sauce but it should have been much better. Is this a closed phased or has it dried out for good? I'll never find out because it was my last bottle; 14.5/20.